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Amp making snap, crackle, POP!

M

markblasco

Jun 21, 2007
237
3
Brier, WA, 98036 USA
#1
I have an eden WT-800A going into an eden 2X10 cab. Recently, I have been getting a slight pop sound every once in a while, but I didn't think much about it, since it usually only happened once or twice after the amp had been on a couple of minutes, and didn't continue. Today, when playing after a few minutes, the sound cut out for about a second, and all I could hear was a sort of crackling sound, followed by a big POP, and then the sound came back in. The pop was quite loud (I could see the speakers pulse forward far enough to be very obvious). This happened about 4-5 times over a few minutes before I shut the head off and walked away from it.

Any ideas as to what the problem could be? Could it be something as simple as the preamp tube, or does it sound like something else? Tomorrow I am going to remove everything else in the chain and test again (I have the signal going through a couple of pedals, and a compressor in the loop), but if this is systematic of something, I would appreciate any info you can give me. Thanks!
 
#6
I was having a similar problem with a GB GBE 600...at least it sounds similar. My effects loop was all gunked up (from lack of use apparenly). I ran a 1/4" plug into both with a little deoxit and the noise was gone after about 10 minutes of that. No problems since then...its at least a cheap and easy procedure to check before trying something more intensive.
 
#8
before you do anything too drastic make sure it's not your bass/cable causing the popping.

If you've got an active bass make sure the battery's not just freakin out (or the preamp).

but assuming you already thought about all of this, +1 to everyone else.
 
#9
If you have an active bass change the battery even if the battery is new. I had a whole pack of 9V batteries that caused all sorts of weird noises in one of my basses. They worked fine in one of my pedals. Buying a new pack and using them I have had no further problems.

Does the amp make the same noises with out anything plugged in to it? If it does then it's amp related ant time to visit the tech. If not then it's one of your other devices.

Paul
 
#10
Clean EVERYTHING. from instrument jack all the way to output jack. Try fiddling with knobs to see if you have a dirty pot as well. I used to get some noise from my carvin B4A due to the input jack having a bad connection in the part that tells the active electronics that there is a plug inserted. It could also be tube sockets, input jacks, etc etc.
 
#11
It could be your resistor! I have an Eden "Highwayman" 600 wt, and for the life of me, I could, or the various techs couldn't find my problem. A bredren bassist from Germamy told me he had the same problem, and it turned out to be his resistor.

I will never forget the "Snap, Crackle, and Popping" sound coming from my speaker cab's.

I have some Eden schematics, WT500, WT600, WT800 - Schematic, if you need it, pm me.
 
#13
The bass is a passive fender jazz V. I unplugged all of the extra stuff, so that it was just bass, cable, amp, speaker cable, speaker. It still happened. I am going to do some recording with it in the next couple of days, recording the DI out, and see if when it pops, that sound comes out of the DI out. If it doesn't, than I know the problem is in the power amp section.

I have a new tube ordered, so I will try switching that out as well soon.
 
#15
OK, the sound cutting out and the pop happens even with a different bass, nothing else plugged in, different power cord, and after running a plug into all of the 1/4 jacks several times. When the new tube comes in I will try that, and if that doesn't fix it, I guess it is off to BassNW for some repairs.
 
#19
I changed the tube, and that didn't make a difference. While it was open, I made sure everything was plugged in well, and it was, so I took it in. I went to Condor Electronics (in Seattle)

As soon as I described the problem, he knew what was wrong. He said that the power for the preamp comes from the same transformer tap as for the power amps, and they use some heavy duty resisters to bring the amperage down (or something along those lines). This resister gets hot, starts to expand, and that in combination with the vibrations of the head on the cabs causes the solder joints to go bad. He said the traces usually start to go as well. His solution will be to run wires to this spot on the circuit board, and put a new resister elsewhere in the case, where the heat will not cause it to start to fail.

The sound cutting out, followed by the pop, was happening because the preamp board was actually losing power for a brief time anytime that resister flexed a little.

He said it should take about 2-3 weeks, since he has a bunch of people ahead of me. I don't mind about the wait, though, since it seems like he knows exactly what is wrong, and the best way to fix it.
 

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